Consoling Jesus
If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that went astray?
Matthew 18:12
When I looked over my first post about why I attend mass, I realized that I was mostly talking about what I received at mass, namely Jesus’ peace and love. My second reason for going to mass deals with what I can give to Jesus. Much of what follows are things that I learned in an excellent book by Fr. Michael Gaitley called Consoling the Heart of Jesus.
Until I had read Fr. Gaitley’s book, I had never really considered that I could give much of anything to Jesus. After all, he’s God. What could he possibly need? That kind of thinking would be true if Jesus was an impersonal god who really didn’t know me or care about me. But, Jesus’ life and death (especially his death) tell a completely different story. Not only does he care about me, he loves me so much that he gave up his life for me. He didn’t go to his crucifixion thinking about this big blob of humanity that he was about to save. He went to it thinking about each individual person. Jesus loves us individually, not collectively. The parable of the lost sheep really drives home this point. Jesus said, “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go in search of the one that went astray?”. That parable really showed me how much Jesus loves each person. And then it dawned on me (with the help of Fr. Gaitley’s book) that there was something I could give to Jesus---I could love him in return.
One of the many ways that Fr. Gaitley suggests loving Jesus is by loving him in the mass. Focusing on this when I am at church has completely changed how I perceive the mass. It used to be extremely boring and an obligation that I had to get out of the way every Sunday. But now, when I go into mass with my mind set on loving Jesus, I’m able to pay attention in a way that I never was before. While I still get distracted at times (and do not see any fireworks or angelic visions), I’m able to listen and really take in the readings and the homily. I can see how they apply to my life. I am more aware of the sacredness of the Eucharist and how much Jesus is pouring his love out for me in this sacrifice. And I try to reciprocate that love by telling him how much I love him, how grateful I am for all he has given me and especially for giving up his life for me, and by consoling him in his suffering.
This idea of consoling Jesus in his suffering was foreign to me up until that point. The best way for me to describe the concept is to give an example from my own life. When my kids were very young, they would always greet me at the door with hugs and excitement when I came home from work. No matter how difficult my day was or how exhausted I felt, the love they gave me made all of the bad stuff from the day fade away. That is how we can be for Jesus when we go to mass looking forward to seeing him with love and excitement. What an amazing concept! We really can give something back to Jesus.